Can COVID-19 vaccines be mixed and matched?
- by Leona Burton
- in World Media
- — Jan 22, 2021
The COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech - the one being administered in Gibraltar - is likely to be effective against the more transmissible variant of the virus initially identified in the United Kingdom, according to a study.
However, on Monday, the Nordic country's health authority said that it found no evidence of a direct link between the spate of deaths and the vaccine.
Apart from Pfizer candidate, the country is eligible for some other vaccines, including those from UK-Swedish AstraZeneca company and US Moderna firm, through the so-called COVAX initiative created to provide equal access to vaccines for the world's poorest countries.
However, Israeli Covid-19 commissioner Nachman Ash told Israel's Army Radio that a single dose appeared to be "less effective than we had thought", according to The Guardian.
More news: U.S. jobless claims decline to a still-high 900,000The vaccine is created to come in two shots, with the second dose given three weeks after the first in clinical trials.
The minister confirmed that the distribution of the vaccine doses would take place at the same time as domestic vaccinations in Norway.
In England where shots by Pfizer and AstraZeneca are available, officials also say the doses should be consistent.
About 50,000 doses are highly likely to be part of the first batch, which is to be provided through the World Health Organization's global vaccine project, known as COVAX, starting next month.
More news: Twitter suspends Donald Trump’s account for 12hrs, threatens ban"All other recipients of the Pfizer vaccine will receive their dose within the 21 to 42 days", said Di Monte. Domain registrations containing Pfizer and BioNTech increased a little in March 2020 then spiked during the fourth quarter as vaccines gained approval for use.
"Unlike for influenza vaccines, the reduction in neutralization that might indicate the need for a strain change has not been established for Covid-19 vaccines", the research team said.
The Ministry of Health issued two new advisories on the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination on its website on January 19, 2021.
Previously, experts have warned one dose of the vaccine does not provide full immunity.
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